Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends: More on the SI Swimsuit Issue


We thought SI was trying too hard and making a mistake by putting Beyonce on the cover. Now we see they are trying to even harder with this new Swimsuit photos in 3-D business. By layering pictures, they are creating a 3-D effect. Hot models in 3-D? Sign us up! But the technology is really poorly done. All that happens is the reader just ends up with a moving blurring photograph that sucks. Stick to the basics, SI, that’s what got you $35M in ad revenue for the swimsuit issue in the first place. Check out Slate’s Intellectual History of the Swimsuit Issue. (Oh by the way, nice ipod.)

In other news…

[Charlotte.com]: Bobby Petrino gives Michael Vick more rope to hang himself responsibility

[Toronto Star]: Grey Cup naming rights to be sold

[The Big Lead]: Sacramento State Girls Know How to Party (Well, the Soccer Team Does)

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: Toronto still loves Vince Carter

[Knickerblogger.net]: All Star “Snubs” – An Exercise in Intellectual Laziness

And finally, we have two wrestling stories. First is a good one about a wrestler with no legs who is kicking ass in Missouri. The second… well, just watch the clip below. (We don’t know what the hell is up with the audio.)

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Boston’s Marathon is Over



We goin’ Sizzler!

1. Reason for Celebration
After a franchise-record 18 consecutive losses, the Boston Celtics can finally experience the thrill of victory again. You have to give Boston some credit for winning in convincing fashion, but there’s no reason that the finger pointing can’s be directed at Milwaukee. It’s already bad enough that the Bucks have become the answer to a trivia question on Sports Jeopardy by breaking the Celtics streak of futility; however, to get blown out by 20 points in the process should be unacceptable. But it’s tough for a team lacking talent to mount a successful comeback after falling down by 13 in the first quarter. Just ask the Celtics.

2. I Got a Golden Ticket!
After Jason Kidd withdrew from competing in the All-Star game this Sunday, David Stern was forced to, once again, assign another player to the squad. Joe Johnson was the lucky recipient of an All-Star credential for the Vegas weekend. Johnson’s 25.1 points per game ranks as the tenth best in the league and last night Johnson lead his Hawks to victory over the Clippers by scoring a team-high 27 points. With four other players being replaced in the game, this year equals the 1996-97 game where Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal all missed the midseason contest.

3. Bull Headed
It’s looking more and more like Pau Gasol will be shipped to Chicago. The only holdup seems to be John Paxson’s unwillingness to send Luol Deng or Ben Gordon to Memphis in exchange. But if the Bulls want to have the size and strength to bang with the big bodies from Miami and Detroit in the postseason, then Paxson will have to overcome his reluctance. The pairing of Gasol and Ben Wallace could be what elevates Chicago into the elite level, where everyone thought they would be before the season began. Paxson should try to hold on to Gordon if at all possible, but if the only way to gain Gasol is through the loss of Gordon then he is going to have to suck it up and pull the trigger.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Cleveland 43 min, 33 pts (FG: 14-23, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 4-8), 6 reb, 12 ast, 2 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (43-9) @ Houston (33-18) Something has to give in this game as both teams enter with excellent situational records. Dallas is an impressive 19-6 on the road, while Houston has done a good job of winning on their home floor (19-6) this year. The Rockets could really use a win over their division rivals as they are currently sitting 10 games behind the league’s best record. Tracy McGrady has led the Rockets to victories in eight of their last 10 games while the team continues to wait on the return of Yao Ming. Dallas once again holds the league’s longest active win streak by taking their past eight games.

Buzzer Beater: Derek Fisher has been in the league for 11 years and during that time he has been trusted by his teammates to take numerous big shots. Hopefully, players feel comfortable with Fisher’s ability to handle responsibility because he will take over as president of the NBA Players Union this weekend. Fisher is the current vice president of the union and will succeed Antonio Davis. This year has been turning out pretty decent for Fisher so far. In addition to the promotion, he is also an important contributor to the league’s third best team as Utah has gone 35-17 this season.

Categories
NBA General

Can Chris Rock please call Tim Hardaway?

By now everyone’s heard of Tim Hardaway’s comments on hating gay people. So we’d like to point out this bit from Chris Rock. We’ve said it before: Chris Rock is a friggin’ genius and the most important comic out there. (And on top of that, he can tell the future.) In any case, here’s what Rock had to say about gays from Bigger and Blacker:

You know what’s fucked up? Everybody gets so homophobic. People, we need to cut that shit out… ’cause everybody in this room got at least a gay cousin. Every last one of you got a gay cousin. You knew he was gay when y’all was kids. You was playing ball, he was jumping rope. He didn’t turn gay, he was gay then. He just didn’t have nobody to be gay with.

Shit, l got a gay uncle. Call him Aunt Tom. Every Christmas, he comes over with his ”friend.” See, it don’t make no sense to hate nobody. lt don’t make no sense to be a racist, sexist, or nothing, but…. lt don’t. lt doesn’t. lt don’t make no sense… ’cause whoever you hate will end up in your family. That’s right, you don’t like gays,you’re gonna have a gay son.

Now check out this clip of Hardaway when asked what if he had a gay family member. I’m sure Tim is a God fearing man. And the best thing is that God has a great sense of humor. Can’t wait for someone in Hardaway’s family to come out. Wait… does Hardaway have any kids?

(By the way, no more Tim Hardaway stories until he does something really stupid.)

Links:
[Yahoo]: Amaechi responds to Hardaway’s comments

Categories
Los Angeles Kings

SI journalist loves his hypocrisy


We love sex. We love hot chicks. We know that hot chicks and sports go hand in hand. Hell, one of our readers suggested that we do a feature on hot chicks discovered at sporting events. (send us any ideas…)

You know who else loves hot chicks? Sports Illustrated. Take a look at their photo galleries. You have “cheerleader of the week”, “college cheerleaders”, “NBA cheerleaders” and whenever there’s a big event, “women of ___”. So how is it that a guy writing a column for SI can possibly criticize the LA Kings for their billboards with a hot blonde on it for trying “to attract fans by selling sex.” Oh and on the day that the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue was released.

Shouldn’t his editor have nixed the column based on timing? It could be argued that they knew exactly what they were doing. But we doubt it. Anyway just one more SI guy without a clue. Peter King is getting more and more company.

Whatever. Here’s another photo of the too hot Elisha Cuthbert.

Links:
[Sports byBrooks]: SI COLUMNIST WRITES NHL SHOULDN’T SEX IT UP TO SELL TIX
[SI]: Desperate Kings using sex to sell tickets

Categories
NBA General

Tim Hardaway hates gay people… no… seriously



You want me to drop an f bomb?

That’s right folks, Mr. Utep 2 Step hates gays. Say it loud and say it proud!


You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.

First of all, I wouldn’t want [Amaechi] on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don’t think that’s right. And you know I don’t think he should be in the locker room while we’re in the locker room. I wouldn’t even be a part of that.

You knew it was only a matter of time before someone just came right out and said it. A few players came out in support of Amaechi, a few came out with head scratching quotes but Timmy Hardaway is the first to flat out say he hates gays. Later on, Hardaway apologized for his remarks and said, “I regret it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said I hate gay people or anything like that. That was my mistake.” Notice that he didn’t back away from his stance. He just said he regretted saying it.

Someone isn’t getting a Christmas card from John Amaechi this year.

Links:
[ESPN]: Former Heat star Hardaway makes anti-gay comments

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends: Is Beyonce the worst SI cover ever?



Booooooooo!

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue sales must have been down last year because this year, they are jumping on the celebrity bandwagon by having Beyonce on the cover. How is it possible that Marissa Miller (possibly the hottest SI swimsuit model ever) has never graced the cover but Beyonce gets it? The SI cover has been pretty sacred ground… until now.

Beyonce is perhaps one of the most overrated celebrities of our time. She is the Derek Jeter of pop stardom. Hell, for someone who is desperately trying to launch an acting career, she was out-acted by an American Idol loser in a movie she should have owned. Not only that, she wasn’t even the first choice for her role.

OK, so clearly Beyonce looks super hot on the SI cover but that’s because they fixed her wig and her mustache.

In other news…

[The Offside]: It’s always satisfying to see a professional blow a goal

[Steroid Nation]: The Dominicans love their juice

[10,000 Takes]: A list of special Valentines Day presents

[The Gold Seat]: David Carr to Vikings?

[Bright Side of the Sun]: Zoo names baby tigers Raja and Nash.

And finally… Valentine’s Day Pat O’Brien Style. Forgot to get a card? You can print out our handy version.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Second Rate All-Stars



Vegas bound

1. Wrecked West
All-Stars are dropping like flies and now, in addition to Carlos Boozer and Yao Ming, Steve Nash and Allen Iverson will both miss the contest for the West. Mehmet Okur and Ray Allen were named as their replacements by David Stern on Tuesday. Stern also inserted Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard into the squad for Boozer and Ming. Now, there are a total of 16 All-Stars in the Western Conference but it appears the East will be assigned a new player soon after Jason Kidd announced he will miss at least one more game with a strained back. No word yet on who could replace Kidd, but we do know that the Hornets’ Chris Paul will replace Nash in the skills competition.

2. He’s Not All Bad
Ron Artest has been playing great lately with at least 20 points in eight of his last nine games but, last night, Artest put together the best offensive output of his career. Artest went off against the Rockets and scored 39 (5-7 3-pointers) points and grabbed eight big boards for the Kings, but it wasn’t enough as Sacramento lost to Houston in overtime. The Kings are now sitting in the basement of their division as Artest and Mike Bibby have both become hot commodities with the trade deadline approaching. The latest rumor had Bibby heading to Cleveland for Cavs forward Drew Gooden.

3. Hornets Get Stung
The Hornets were in position to move into the playoff picture last night, and all they had to do was beat the pathetic Grizzlies. But it wasn’t New Orleans’ night as Memphis picked up their first division win of the season with an exciting 108-104 victory at home. It was the Grizzlies third crack at the Hornets this year; in all Memphis was 0-13 versus division foes (0-4 vs. DAL, 0-4 vs. HOU, 0-3 vs. SA, 1-2 vs. NO) before they finally picked up a win. Tyson Chandler went bananas, grabbing a franchise record-tying 23 rebounds while matching his career-high in points with 17. With the win, the Grizzlies are now only 11 ½ games out of the playoff picture. Keep up the good work guys.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki @ Milwaukee 43 min, 38 pts (FG: 15-28, 3FG: 2-6, FT: 6-6), 11 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (34-18) @ Detroit (32-18) The road trip continues for San Antonio and so far the Spurs have been on a pretty bumpy ride. SA is 3-4 during the stretch but gained some confidence last night after blowing out a struggling Nets team. Detroit will prove a tough task as they are 17-9 at home this year and currently riding a seven game win streak. Much like when the Pistons added Rasheed Wallace to their squad mid-season a few years ago, Detroit is becoming better and better as the postseason approaches.

Buzzer Beater: It took a few seasons but Eddy Curry is finally living up to the draft day hype. He scored 19 points against the Lakers last night and scored the go-ahead basket with seven seconds remaining. Curry is even received some All-Star consideration and if Jason Kidd misses the game, Curry could still be injected into the Eastern Conference’s lineup but it’ll be tough for the commish to pass on a high scoring Joe Johnson.

Categories
NHL General

The NHL would like to remind us that it exists

Now that football season is over, those of you hungry for some sports that don’t include 20 timeouts in the last 2 minutes can focus in on the hockey season. Since we’re Flyers fans, the NHL season ended sometime around September but for those of you with teams still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, the NHL has a new ad for you. (via Off Wing Opinion)

Btw, you would probably enjoy this video of Bridget Moynahan and Heather Graham kissing more but we couldn’t really find a sports reason to post it other than it being Tom Brady’s ex. But even that is kinda reaching. In any case, you’re welcome.

Categories
Detroit Pistons

Do black people all look alike to you, Craig Sager?

Via the big lead comes this great clip of Craig Sager interviewing Chris Webber’s father and then afterward realizing that it was his AAU coach and then having to interview the real Mayce Webber instead.

Two things. 1) It’s a shame that it was Webber’s AAU coach and not just some random guy in the stands. 2) Too bad the guy didn’t look like Sugar Ray Leonard.

Categories
New York Giants

Tiki throws Tom under the bus



Practice? Practice? We talking
’bout practice!

Most people who quit their jobs just go quietly and try not to burn any bridges. But Tiki, with his new television contract doesn’t have any worries about running into Tom Coughlin again so he decided he might as well take a (veiled) parting shot as Coughlin.


Coach Coughlin is very hard-nosed, and I didn’t get a lot of time off, couldn’t sit down and rest myself, and so it was a constant grind – a physical grind on me that started to take its toll. The grind took its toll on me and really forced me to start thinking about what I wanted to do next. And that’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing, for me at least. Maybe not for the Giants, because they lose one of their great players, but for me, it is.

There’d be days where I couldn’t move on Tuesday or Wednesday at practice, and he’d get mad at me for going half-speed. And I told him, ‘Coach, I can’t do it. I’m gonna be out here, I’m never gonna miss a practice, but I can’t give you what you want all the time.’ And he understood.

We were in full pads for 17 weeks, and with the amount of injuries that we had, it just takes a toll on you. You just physically don’t want to be out there when your body feels the way you do in full pads. And while it probably doesn’t have a really detrimental effect on how you practice or how you play, it does on your mind. And if you lose your mind in this game, you lose a lot. And that’s something that he has to realize. And I think he does [now].

First of all, we love how Tiki calls himself one of the great Giants players without hesitation. Second, Tiki must still have a lot of good friends on the team because this statement was calculated to give them a break next year and perhaps a permanent break once Coughlin is fired after the 2007-2008 season.

Links:
[NY Post]: QUITTIN’ TOM